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What is 802.11ac and How Will It Benefit Me?

If you haven’t already heard about 802.11ac then you will most likely hear about it before this year is over. This is because a whole lot of wireless device manufacturers will be boasting that their devices are 802.11ac enabled. Okay… so what? What is 802.11ac anyway?

If you have a computer and an internet connection at home, then you will most likely also have a router that your computer uses to connect to the internet. If you don’t have a router, then you’ll at least have a modem. The difference between a modem and a router is that only one computer can be connected to a modem and that computer alone will be able to connect to the internet. If you have more than one computer and you want them all to get internet access, you’ll need a router.

Most routers for home use have 4 Ethernet ports. This means you can connect 4 devices or computers to the router and all of them will be able to connect to the internet or share files among each other. However, these devices will need to be connected to the router using a cable. This really limits the mobility of these devices.

If you’re only connecting 3 desktops and a network enabled printer to your home network, then mobility will not be a problem. What if you have a laptop? You really don’t want to be stuck to a single place to use a laptop. Laptops are meant to be mobile, that means getting internet access wherever you have your laptop.

This is where wireless connectivity comes to play. Most routers now have wireless connectivity so you can take your laptop anywhere within your house and still have internet access.

Wireless connectivity is what 802.11ac is all about. To be more precise, the speed of wireless connectivity is what 802.11ac is all about. In fact 802.11ac is supposedly going to be able to connect your wireless devices to your router at amazingly fast speeds. This means that you will be able to watch movies faster and play online games a lot faster and more reliable (zero ping rate, no drop outs) as well.

How fast will your router and wireless device connection be with 802.11ac? Word is, the speed can reach around 1.3Gbps. WiFi protocol 802.11n, the latest of the series, can give you a connection speed of only 300Mbps. 802.11g and 802.11b give you a bit slower speeds respectively.

802.11ac is still in the draft Beta stages and probably won’t come out until mid next year but a lot of wireless product manufacturers already claim that they have products that are capable. In fact, you can expect to be seeing 802.11ac products even before that actual 802.11ac protocol has been released.

If you are really hungry for wireless connectivity speed, then 802.11ac will work for you. For most of the world, the speed a wireless device can connect to their router won’t really matter because their internet speed is way slower. Many people are still dreaming of getting internet connection speeds of 5Mbps, so 802.11ac will not make much of a difference for them.

If you are looking for the best 802.11ac router then visit http://www.theproductsite.com for expert friendly advice that will explain to you which WiFi router is the best for your needs. This product site aims to help customers find the best wireless routers for them by offering a needs-oriented shopping experience. The productsite.com also offers a range of expert reviews, technical tests, articles, tips, and resources to guide users on finding the right type of router for them for streaming (YouTube, Vimeo, Netflix, BBC iPlayer), downloading (Bit torrent, IRC) or online gaming (Xbox 360, PS3, PS4, Xbox 720, Wii) needs.